Wednesday, September 29, 2010

I don't think we can overemphasize the importance of witchy elements to a stellar fall wardrobe. While I don't thrift a lot of black clothing (leave that to our resident New Yorker), I have also come across some key pieces that complement my fantastical look.

Verging on Ren Fair/Harry Potter/Medieval costume/LOTR (though I have no qualms incorporating some of that into my wardrobe, as seen here, here and here), I was roped into buying this number by my brother, who was on the phone with me as I was trying it on in the dressing room at Arc Value Village. I asked him if I "needed" a baggy, purple, crushed velvet vest and he replied, "yes, because it would be like Prince."

I decided right then and there to get the thing, even though I misunderstood him and thought he was talking about Prince the recording artist ("like Prince at the zoo," I quipped). He meant prince as in the son of a king. Like Jesus.*

These fantastic velvety bow numbers could, like the vest, represent many styles. In particular, these shoes could also be considered as "pilgrim shoes," or, as I like to think of it, "classic sensible footwear."

I have yet, however, to find a pentagram necklace that is as versatile as these pieces.

*My bad. Catholic school should have taught me that is the son of God.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

As I mentioned earlier, while contemplating the nature of a silver velvet crop top, my fall look is moving in a very witchy direction. And although it was 85 degrees today, I am theorizing that I will eventually have the opportunity to actually wear these clothes. For now, however, I must be content to blog about them. These are a few recent finds that will be key in the witchification of fall.The piece de resistance to be certain is this epic long sleeve scoop neck knit maxi dress. It's Esprit! From the 90's! Eat your heart out Neve Campbell.

This is the first time that I have revisited the poet's blouse since 3rd grade, when I bought one at Shopko with my allowance money. That one was definitely not sheer. I just think this is sooooooo pretty.

I got these rad buckle booties at the end of the summer at the St. Vinnie's in Green Bay, marking the end of the dry spell for what is normally the greatest place on earth for shoe thrifting. These were $3. I love the whip stitch detail.

It's no secret that adhesives are great, but what is a secret is how awesome big buttons are! Just like skirts, I dig buttons that are extreme—large or very, very small. None of that one inch crap.

I have been especially into weird, handmade buttons such as these.

While a well placed button can always spice of up a hoodie or backpack, I've found that hat pins are another item that can be functional (and stylish) beyond their intended use of pinning hats onto poofy hair, which I don't possess (the hair, not the hats). I personally like to use hat pins to decorate hats, blazers and the occasional dress. As an added bonus, I have also used hat pins to close pesky jackets that are drafty, or to pin scarves around my neck, during the cold winter months.

Friday, September 24, 2010

So, if you live in any sort of somewhat temperate region, you are experiencing that move to the cold, wet months of year. As we encounter the changing seasons, it is important to prepare your vintage and thrifted (or, guiltily bought new Urban Outfitters) goods if you want them to last.

One such way—spraying your suede shoes with a sealant. It only took me about a year, but I have finally tackled this task which took all of five minutes. And now I can wear my suede heels, booties and flats with a clear conscious, worry free!

Ha! Gotcha! These tops aren't just for Halloween! I just got them at the Halloween boutique!

True story: when I went to check out with my piles and piles of merch, the woman checking me out looked at the pile and made a comment about how much stuff I had. When I told her that I got it from the Halloween boutique, she looked at me, completely straight-faced and honest, and said, "you must go to a lot of Halloween parties."

I don't.

But I do, like most of the world's population, wear tops (most of the time). AND, lucky for me, the majority of the tops I found yesterday were perfectly cropped.

Nothing tops my list of anthropomorphism more than the disgruntled worker bear. I didn't even know that I had such a soft spot for this creature until I found this shirt:

Now, I did procure this top from the MPLS resale shop Rewind Vintage , which Laurie has pointed out, is cheating on a thrifting blog, but it helps illustrate my point/love for the disgruntled worker bear while also demonstrating how I now have a collection of disgruntled worker bear tops.

Yesterday I reached new levels of exhilaration when I stumbled upon this t-shirt:

Imagine!

Not only does this shirt sport my favorite human-like animal, but it also takes a jab, not just at the doldrums of working, but at MONDAYS! And Garfield is nowhere in sight (though admittedly, I would jump at a chance for a "I hate Mondays" Garfield top...did anyone else have their mind blown when they realized that Garfield actually sleeps in a lasagna pan?!)!

These disgruntled worker bear shirts, however, raise more questions than they provide answers.

Who decided that a bear was the best personification for a blue collar factory workers (assembly and management)? Who originally purchased the shirts? Did they identify with the bears? Are the bears in the union? If so, which one and is it only for bears? Did the bears' pensions get cut when the company decided to outsource the factory work abroad?

In order from most casual to most dressy, I came away from the most amazing thrifting experience of my life (unknowingly stumbling upon the first day of ARC Value Village's Halloween Boutique) with, among many things, these four little ditties.

My plan, as the days grow colder, is try to mix up my normal cold weather bottom go-tos (jeans and sweatpants), with pants and skirts (and possibly even shorts! or coolots!) of varying lengths and materials, aided by smart layering (tights, leggings, socks, boots, what have you). In particular, I want to start wearing skirts of extreme lengths—long and short. Though the above skirts aren't quite extreme in their shortness, I'd say they fit the bill of being excellent short fall skirts.

*it is also worth noting that the white skirt is white leather, not the bottom half of some cheap pleather sexy nurse costume.

Yesterday's thrifting outing was definitely solid. A running theme-if two is a theme-was big shirts/shirt dresses. I already have several, and thought for a second that perhaps I need to back off. But it is the perfect fall/winter work uniform; big awesome shirt and some leggings/mini skirt/jeans. done. This is a quintessential 80's Omo Norma Kamali drapey jersey button down with dropped shoulders that I purchased for $3. The woman perfected it. I have an Omo sheer shirt dress I thrifted a few years ago from the same era that is Ta die for.First things first, the buttons are getting changed out immediately. Why would anyone put white buttons on dark silk? WTF? Otherwise, I LOVE this print, and it is my favorite fabric in the whole world, washed silk.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

I have had a moratorium on velvet in my wardrobe for a solid six years. Maybe more, actually, as now I cannot recollect a single velvet thing that I have ever really owned. Anyhow, the velvet moratorium is over in a very major way, with this silver velvet crop top. It is one of several pieces I recently found that are sending my fall look in a very witchy direction. I dig it. I passed up an amazing long velvet tiered skirt the same day, which I immediately regretted terribly. I went back a week later for it and it was gone. Never second guess your instincts.

When I wore this for the first time last week, I drew a lot of stares, and I'm not quite sure why. That is a hard thing to do in New York. Maybe 8:30 a.m. is too early for silver velvet. I don't think so.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

I had sworn off Unique as a thrifting gold mine (too expensive, mostly mall crap from approximately 3 years ago), but after stumbling upon Tuesday "customer appreciation" days (meaning everything was 25% off), I may change my tune. Of all my finds (documented here), this was by far the strangest.

After a brief foray into neutral preppy fashions, I have decided to return to my roots with a more "rock'n'roll, homeless, Stevie Nicks, bohemian, sparkles" kind of look. A look that can only be accomplished with a successful trip to the Salvation Army, where, of course, I was able to stay under my newly self-imposed $10 limit and still come home with some majorly awesome pieces.